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Orlando City
Major League Soccer | Gameweek 27
Aug 28, 2021 at 1.30am UK
Florida Citrus Bowl
Inter Miami

Orlando City
0 - 0
Inter Miami


Jansson (51')
FT

Pizarro (63'), Makoun (85')

Preview: Orlando City vs. Inter Miami - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Saturday's Major League Soccer clash between Orlando City and Inter Miami, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

A much improved Inter Miami side will try to earn their first three-game winning streak in franchise history on Friday when they travel to Exploria Stadium to battle their sunshine state rivals, Orlando City.

The Lions ended a four-game winless run in all competitions last Saturday, defeating the Chicago Fire 1-0, while the Herons got by Toronto 3-1 last week to move into 11th in the Eastern Conference.


Match preview

Orlando City SC midfielder Nani (17) reacts after scoring a goal against FC Cincinnati in the second half at TQL Stadium on August 7, 2021© Reuters

Orlando are back in second place in the East following their third win in their last four MLS fixtures at home, with two more upcoming.

While they remain in a distant second, 15 points behind the New England Revolution, this team are in a comfortable position at the moment, two points clear of the Philadelphia Union and Nashville SC, having played one fewer game than Philly.

A year ago, they were the second-highest scoring team in MLS, but injuries and international absences have forced manager Oscar Pareja to have a more pragmatic approach to their fixtures so far this season, and their attack has suffered as a result.

Their victory last Saturday put Pareja even with former boss Jason Kreis for most wins for the club at 22 in what was a solid all-around performance for his side.

The Lions controlled the tempo throughout the 90 minutes versus the Fire, while they sent a lot of dangerous balls into the box, creating some good scoring chances.

Exploria Stadium has become more challenging for opposing sides to earn points lately, with Orlando only losing twice at home since the start of the 2020 campaign.

Inter Miami head coach Phil Neville helps D.C. United midfielder Kevin Paredes (30) to get up on June 9, 2021© Reuters

Phil Neville has seen his Inter Miami side resurrect a season that looked dead and buried a few weeks ago, earning three wins in their last four fixtures.

Currently trailing DC United by five points for the final playoff spot in the East there is all of a sudden, a legitimate chance that this team can make a move and sneak into one of those post season positions, having played two fewer contests than the Columbus Crew, Atlanta United and the Black-and-Red.

One could say that this team have not faced a stiff challenge lately, beating the Chicago Fire and Toronto in successive weeks, but when you examine their form a little closer, it looks a lot more impressive with 14 points from their previous seven fixtures.

If they want to make the post season for a second year running, earning some wins on the road is imperative, with nine of their final 15 matches taking place away from home.

Their slumbering offence has woken up with three goals in back-to-back games while only being held goalless once in their previous seven encounters.

It has taken a while, but it appears that the veteran presence on this team is starting to pay off, as they look a lot more composed and comfortable than they did over the first half of the year.

Orlando City Major League Soccer form:
  • L
  • W
  • D
  • D
  • D
  • W

Orlando City form (all competitions):
  • W
  • D
  • D
  • L
  • D
  • W

Inter Miami Major League Soccer form:
  • W
  • D
  • W
  • L
  • W
  • W



Team News

Orlando City SC head coach Oscar Pareja walks off the field at the end of the game against FC Cincinnati at TQL Stadium on August 7, 2021© Reuters

Orlando backup keeper Mason Stajduhar recorded his first professional clean sheet, stopping all five shots that he faced against Chicago, while Raul Aguilera made his Lions debut coming on for Joey DeZart with five minutes to play last Saturday.

The club are still without several regulars, including Sebastian Mendez, Alexandre Pato, Uri Rosell, Pedro Gallese and Mauricio Pereyra, who are nursing lower-body injuries.

Benji Michel scored his fourth goal of the year last week and is currently second in team scoring, while Tesho Akindele tallied his fifth assist of the campaign, which is a new career-high for him in a single season.

Attacking midfielder Rodolfo Pizarro was named the MLS Player of the Week for Miami after scoring a brace in their 3-1 win over the Reds, as he is just one behind Robbie Robinson for second on the team, with the American scoring the winner in the first half last week.

Ian Fray, Joevin Jones, Ventura Alvarado and Ryan Shawcross were all absent from their match last week with unknown injuries.

Gregore will not be available for this match due to yellow card accumulation and Leonardo Gonzalez Pirez picked up two assists last week, his first two this season, and he is two back of Gonzalo Higuain for the team lead.

Orlando City possible starting lineup:
Stajduhar; Ruan, Carlos, Jansson, Moutinho; Aguilera, DeZart, Urso, Michel; Akindele, Nani

Inter Miami possible starting lineup:
McCarthy; Pirez, Figal, Makoun, Gibbs; Morgan, Chapman, Matuidi, Pizarro; G. Higuain, Robinson


SM words green background

We say: Orlando City 1-3 Inter Miami

Both sides have the advantage of having games in hand on the teams above them in the table, but Miami are starting to score goals at long last, whereas Orlando have only scored multiple times in two of their last 11 matches.



Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 3.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Under 3.5:data



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Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Orlando City win with a probability of 60.53%. A draw had a probability of 21.5% and a win for Inter Miami had a probability of 17.92%.

The most likely scoreline for a Orlando City win was 1-0 with a probability of 10.69%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (10.41%) and 2-1 (9.94%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (10.2%), while for a Inter Miami win it was 0-1 (5.24%). The actual scoreline of 0-0 was predicted with a 5.5% likelihood.


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Game History

How you voted: Orlando City vs Inter Miami

Orlando City
35.0%
Draw
35.0%
Inter Miami
30.0%
40
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New York City FC forward Valentin Castellanos (11) celebrates a goal by forward Santiago Rodriguez (not pictured) against Toronto FC with defender Malte Amundsen (12) and forward Thiago (8) during the first half at BMO Field on August 7, 2021
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Eastern Conference

TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Inter MiamiInter Miami1594236201631
2FC CincinnatiCincinnati149321911830
3New York Red BullsNY Red Bulls146532521423
4New York City FCNY City147251816223
5Toronto147162120122
6Columbus Crew135621913621
7Charlotte FCCharlotte FC146351413121
8Philadelphia UnionPhiladelphia134542521417
9DC United144552024-417
10Orlando City134451520-516
11Nashville SCNashville133641720-315
12Atlanta UnitedAtlanta133461716113
13CF MontrealMontreal133371731-1412
14Chicago Fire142481326-1310
15New England RevolutionNew England12219925-167

Western Conference

TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Real Salt LakeSalt Lake1484227141328
2Minnesota UnitedMinnesota Utd127322114724
3Los Angeles GalaxyLA Galaxy145722521422
4Austin FCAustin146441917222
5Los Angeles FCLos Angeles136342419521
6Colorado RapidsColorado146352423121
7Vancouver WhitecapsVancouver135441915419
8Houston DynamoHouston135351213-118
9St Louis City133731920-116
10Seattle SoundersSeattle143561617-114
11Portland TimbersPortland143472629-313
12Dallas123361317-412
13Sporting Kansas CityKansas132562124-311
14San Jose EarthquakesEarthquakes1431102233-1110


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